A new report shows just how far Appalachia has fallen behind the rest of the country on key health measures such as rates of cancer, heart disease and infant mortality. Researchers say the region’s health gap is growing and they hope the data they’ve compiled will spur new approaches to health care.

The true costs of the deep cuts in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would fall disproportionately on many of the poor and working class people in the Ohio Valley region who helped to elect him, according to lawmakers and policy analysts.

By most measures, health outcomes in the Ohio Valley region are not very good, with many parts of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia ranking near the bottom among states. But a team of health researchers may have found a few places within the region that stand out. They see them as potential “bright spots” — places with some health measures better than expected for the region.

Now the researchers want to know why these communities fare better and whether the lessons can be applied elsewhere.

President Donald Trump's proposal to cut the Appalachian Regional Commission and other agencies has alarmed some people in a region that helped to elect him. Now a budget resistance is brewing within the president's own party. Benny Becker of the Ohio Valley ReSource reports on what's at stake.

Nearly $70 million in federal funds is now available for coal mining communities across the country. The Appalachian Regional Commission and the U.S. Economic Development Administration announced the funding on Thursday.